Picture Vernon: All Aboard With Mr. Vanness

VERNON, CT — The latest installment of the picture Vernon series takes us back to a time when trains ran through several areas of town, at the height of the Victorian mill age.

Meet Henry Vanness, one of the few people of color to work as a conductor on a rail line during the era.

Vanness was said to have worked on the trains for many years and was respected both as a professional and in the community.

Vernon Historical Society records show Vanness lived with his family on Spruce Street in the Rockville section of Vernon, next door to his brother-in-law, artist Charles Ethan Porter.

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Pictuure Vernon is a periodic look at the town, past and present.